Smiling man with dark facial hair, wearing a bandana on his head

Miguel Hector Ochoa was born on January 8, 1987, to Sofia and Hector Ochoa in Los Angeles, California. One of seven children, Miguel learned quickly to fend for himself and to make his voice heard. He also learned to get along with people and developed an easygoing, often-humorous approach to life.

He did well in school, particularly in math, but his real love was fixing things and making them work. As a child, Miguel loved to get his hands on broken televisions, radios, and any other electronic gadget to see if he could put them back together. By the age of fifteen, he had developed a sideline in this repair work and often sold his refurbished appliances to local neighbors.

His father, Hector, a now-retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, had hoped all of his sons would follow in his footsteps and become police officers. Though his three brothers — Francisco, Juan, and Julio — did follow their father into the LAPD, Miguel wanted a different life, a decision that has contributed to his estrangement from his family.

Sofia, his mother, secretly thanked God that she had one son who did not put his life in harm's way on a daily basis and supported his choice not to become a policeman. Naturally, this caused much strife and endless arguments, both in the immediate family and within the extended Ochoa clan.

Within a year after Miguel graduated high school, he'd had enough of the debates and pressure to change his mind, and he decided to leave California. He moved to Dallas, Texas, where he lived with an uncle and aunt for a while, then moved on to New Orleans and eventually ended up in Mississippi.

Within a short time, he had himself established as a "fix-it" man and developed a good roster of clients. He also learned carpentry and cabling and got work in those areas as well.

Currently, Miguel works for Comcast in Yoknapatawpha County. He is dating Tammy Freeman, a budding local artist he met in the summer of 2022.

In his spare time, Miguel tools with the 1965 Ford Mustang he is rebuilding, despite the challenge of getting parts quickly. He also volunteers as a Big Brother and plays Santa Claus at St. John's Catholic Church Christmas Pageant.